Bruce Lee's project WARRIOR is headed for television

I have no doubt that Bruce Lee died well before his prime. He only headlined four movies – The Big Boss, The Way Of The Dragon, Enter The Dragon and the posthumous Game Of Death. That last one was made mostly with a stand-in, but the fight scenes at the end are still all Bruce. With his US debut under his belt and the world at his feet, when Lee died at 32 he was really just getting started.

Yet contrary to the somewhat lopsided picture painted by the biopic Dragon, Lee actually did a lot of other work as well, both in Hong Kong and in the U.S. Many of those roles were brief parts on TV and a stint as Kato in The Green Hornet.

Another show Lee seemed destined for was Kung Fu, starring the late David Carradine. It has long been held that the idea of the wandering martial artist was actually stolen from Lee. He originally proposed a show called Warrior, around the very same concept (to be fair, Kung Fu‘s creator Ed Spielman has always disputed this claim).

Well, 42 years after his death Lee might get his wish. News is that Fast & Furious franchise helmer Justin Lin is teaming up with Banshee co-creator Jonathan Tropper to create a show called Warrior for Cinemax, the premium station that airs Banshee. But this won’t be Lee’s vision of Kung Fu. Instead it will be based on numerous notes that the martial arts actor left behind, outlining a show about a talented but morally corrupt martial artist whose life is thrown into crisis when his quest for vengeance goes south.

Warrior has the blessing and support of Lee’s family, particularly his daughter Shannon – who has been compiling her father’s handwritten notes for the planned series, which she discovered years after his death. Lin will be one of the executive producers and is also directing the pilot.

Last Updated: May 22, 2015